“Advocacy” in Brussels: who are the “umbrella organizations”?

Lobbying and advocacy are an important (and noble) part of europlanning. Let’s find out the main characters together.

Lobbying and Advocacy: let’s define them.

We touched on the topic of “advocacy” and “lobbying” in Brussels for the first time this summer, as part of an interesting interview which provided many important insights.

Let us take up and explore the topic by first trying to understand what it is all about: to shed light on a topic that may appear obscure if not framed correctly.

First, there is nothing strange or abnormal about the (so-called) activity of “lobbying” when it is open in nature and intended as “advocacy.” The two terms are related, and can be considered synonymous, with a nuance: the “lobbying” is the exercise of influence toward those who wield power in an area or sector; the”advocacy” is the exercise of such influence when associated with social needs and the mobilization of public opinion.

A substantial part of europlanning

In both cases, when carried out within a proper institutional and ethical framework, both lobbying and advocacy are activities that are not only legitimate but also important for the European Union. Indeed, community institutions seek a continuous confrontation with civil society, with citizens, with organizations representing their demands and interests, with the European public sector in the various member states, and with the business community. The European projects are. the application of a policy ; policies are a response of institutions to needs; and to know the needs it is necessary to have a dialogue with those who manifest them.

Those involved in European projects have a greater responsibility in engaging in this dialogue, as it must bring back to the institutions its experience (in a small way) as a policy implementer, thereby nurturing the funding programming cycle and contributing to its improvement. This responsibility brings with it some advantages, because active participation in dialogue with institutions allows one to know in advance the directions in one’s field and to be better prepared in developing new projects.

Representative channels and associations-umbrella

This may sound abstract, but it is an activity within the reach of organizations. Or rather: it is an activity that becomes within the reach of organizations when they build a network and act through the relevant sector organizations and the specific channels of representation.

There are many of them and they are among the most active actors in Brussels. They refer to similar national organizations, or larger organizations, or at other times gather members widely among small and medium-sized organizations active in their area of focus. Because of their nature as an association that gathers and represents other associations, they are referred to as “associations-umbrella“.

Each umbrella-association carries a specific sectoral expertise and thematic network. They are important interlocutors of community organizations and officials dealing with community policies and funds. Their contributions (through simple feedback, specific and thematic meetings, participation in green books e white papers, mobilization campaigns, etc.) have a real impact on policies, programs and calls. Their role is bi-directional: on the one hand they represent the demands of the organizations in their sector, and on the other they bring their members information on policies and their expected developments in terms of funds and calls for proposals.

An activity within the reach of organizations

It is it is therefore of a process and structure that exist in all areas of NGO activity. Through these channels you can have information from Brussels, representation in Brussels, your own voice in Brussels, even for the little ones. And through these channels it is possible, even for young children, to contribute to European project policies and programming. The important thing is to find the best “landing point” related to its area of focus.

Let us analyze together, in concrete terms, what these “landing points“; not to mention the parallel role of some specific institutions (such as the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions or the Italian representation at the EU), the support provided by the Europe Direct network and other decentralized offices, the possibility of a direct contact o the exchange and meeting opportunities provided by “European days” and events in the various areas of EU action (in which it is increasingly easy to participate even from a distance).

Identikit of organizations-umbrella

The umbrella organizations present in Brussels or otherwise active at the community level are many, in the range of hundreds. There are, almost always, multiple umbrella organizations active in the same field. They are distinguished from each other on the basis of various parameters:

• Associations dedicated to large or small organizations in an industry;
• Associations focused on the private sector, association sector, or institutional sector;
• Associations dedicated to a particular type of affiliation (religious or secular, union or business, political or a-political; though most present themselves as neutral);
• Associations that group (almost) exclusively national associations or associations open to all organizations;
• Associations dedicated to a particular target or sub-sector (e.g., youth active in the environmental field; migrant women; etc.);
• Associations and platforms created as part of (or developed from) European projects, or that are direct emanations of a DG’s desire for dialogue (e.g., Social Platform or Civil society and Fundamental Rights Platform);
• Associations representing the European “branch” of an even larger international organization, or representing directly in Brussels (without an “umbrella” role) a single particularly large and well-known international NGO;
• Spontaneous associations, associations governed by simple agreements among members, and associations with legal personality (there are no formal parameters for defining an umbrella organization).

An ever-changing “forest”

In short, there are really umbrella-organizations of all sorts, in every sector. In many cases they are born, die, evolve, merge with each other or split over the years. In many cases they have “cross-participation,” that is, various umbrella organizations participate in the network of other organizations in related fields.

For this reason there is no “registry” of umbrella organizations or a single website where their number and extreme variety can be appreciated.

To give an idea of the breadth, importance, and possible relevance of umbrella organizations for those involved in European planning, we have tried to compile a list of them obviously not exhaustive, organized (in an equally indicative way) by sector; focusing on some of the areas of greatest interest to Third Sector organizations.

We hope that this small archive will help raise awareness about this lesser-known but important side of europlanning.

Regardless of whether they choose to join or not, umbrella organizations remain a very important source of information about what is happening at the European level in their area of focus.

Following their websites, publications and initiatives can provide very important and concrete thematic updates that complement the general thrust of our Guide.

Write to us via e-mail or through the channels Facebook e LinkedIn to help us update, rectify and make this list even more complete.